The Cry of an African Girl

A chance to be what I wanted to be
was all I ever needed
A woman leader who’ll bring change
to the lives of the women and girls
in my village.

As I sat besides the three-stoned cooking fire
together with my mother
she kept throwing glances
at my serious looking face.
Then she broke the silence
that had existed between us.

‘Awuor’ she called me
‘Yes mum’ I answered silently,
staring at the furiously burning fire
and the boiling ‘bo’ mkunde in the cooking pot.
‘they are coming to take you soon’ she said.

I looked away,
My heart filled with so much rage
Tears lingering in my eyes
Biting my lips so hard
Trying not to let my tears fall out.

‘Why mama’ I whispered
‘ Am so young, am only 12, I have to finish school
Why should I be his seventh wife
Isn’t he satisfied with the ones he already has
Why should I get married to the fat bellied
Weak, almost 100 years old man,
He is supposed to be my grandpa.
Mama why?’ I asked bitterly
Letting off tears that I couldn’t hold back anymore.

‘Its our tradition, he is rich
We need wealth to educate your brothers’
Was all my mama could say.

Barely a week later,
On my way back from the river
My little body was merciless grabbed
by three men from a nearby bush,
my water pot fell down to pieces,
my water spilled and dissolved in the hot sands
I screamed for help
But my wails faded in thin air
No one came to my rescue
I protested to no avail.

My tireless efforts to free myself
landed me at the home of my supposed ‘husband’
the other wives came out of their huts and watched jealously
‘ha ha ha, welcome my queen’
He applauded loudly with his croaky voice,
joyfully looking at me with his wrinkled ugly face.

Welcome my queen, he repeated
’Thanks grandpa’ I mumbled
‘Your husband’ He corrected
‘Grandpa’ I insisted
I was irritating him
‘Set her free, she’ll get used’ he told his thin legged boys
And I was dropped down with a thud.

Five months later
I started resembling him, fat bellied.
my protruding stomach leading, my back following
He had played his role,
Ploughed on a fertile land.
The community praised him.

In this merciless world
I brought forth another innocent soul
to be disgraced with the fucking traditions.

Traditions that took away my innocence
My ambition- to be a women leader
to save the girls from facing the wrath
of these brutal human beings,
To go beyond borders and
step over the irrelevant cultures

Cultures that broke my little delicate walls.

Lauryn Awuor 2009